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3.98 AVERAGE
3.98 AVERAGE
Ahoy there mateys! This was a decent conclusion to the Lotus Kingdoms trilogy. The plus side has the reader getting some answers for why the worlds worked the way they do (interesting if not completely fleshed out). I also continued to love the strong female characters. The downsides were too many characters so that not all were given adequate page time or resolution. Plus there was a slow start to the novel in general. I really wanted more time with the scientist magicians and the Gage. I wasn't completely satisfied by the ending and who the bad guys were. I admit that I preferred the first trilogy set in the Eternal Sky world but am still glad to have read this one. Arrr!
HIGHLIGHTS
~blind dragons are still badass
~#transwomenarewomen
~literal bookworms contribute to empire
~goddesses are rarely what you expect
~wearing a crown is almost as complicated as claiming it
*Spoilers for The Bone in the Skull and The Red-Stained Wings!*
To be honest, the ending ruined it for me.
The first two thirds of Origin of Storms cover Mrithuri, Sayeh and the rest working to consolidate Mrithuri’s unexpected empire. It’s definitely slow to get moving, but something about the rhythm and cadence of the prose made it surprisingly readable and oddly soothing. It was easy to drift along with, enjoyably. It involved more military logistics than political manouvering, but there was manouvering, and it was sneaky and clever and well-done.
Even moreso than the rest of the trilogy, Origin of Storms is very much a book about women: royal women, noble women, educated women, loyal women, servant women, holy women. It’s about the restrictions placed on women – especially those who want to hold power that men will respect – and how to move within those restrictions to get what you want (or as close to what you want as can be managed). It’s about the nature of feminine power, which can’t look like power at all if you want to get things done. It’s about being women playing the traditionally-male game of kingdoms and thrones. It’s about how hard that is.
And it is very, very much about women – all kinds of women – working together.
One of the things that made me happiest about Origin is that Sayeh – who is third-sex, and identifies and presents as a woman – is never left out of this. Her place among the rest of the women is never even up for debate, is never questioned. Of course she’s one of them. She’s a vital and valued member of the sisterhood. Which is something that would make me happy no matter when this book was coming out, but it feels particularly important – and powerful – right at this moment, when so much transphobia is running rampant in the USA and UK.
But the last third or quarter of the book ruined the entire trilogy for me.
Read the rest at Every Book a Doorway!
~blind dragons are still badass
~#transwomenarewomen
~literal bookworms contribute to empire
~goddesses are rarely what you expect
~wearing a crown is almost as complicated as claiming it
*Spoilers for The Bone in the Skull and The Red-Stained Wings!*
To be honest, the ending ruined it for me.
The first two thirds of Origin of Storms cover Mrithuri, Sayeh and the rest working to consolidate Mrithuri’s unexpected empire. It’s definitely slow to get moving, but something about the rhythm and cadence of the prose made it surprisingly readable and oddly soothing. It was easy to drift along with, enjoyably. It involved more military logistics than political manouvering, but there was manouvering, and it was sneaky and clever and well-done.
Even moreso than the rest of the trilogy, Origin of Storms is very much a book about women: royal women, noble women, educated women, loyal women, servant women, holy women. It’s about the restrictions placed on women – especially those who want to hold power that men will respect – and how to move within those restrictions to get what you want (or as close to what you want as can be managed). It’s about the nature of feminine power, which can’t look like power at all if you want to get things done. It’s about being women playing the traditionally-male game of kingdoms and thrones. It’s about how hard that is.
And it is very, very much about women – all kinds of women – working together.
One of the things that made me happiest about Origin is that Sayeh – who is third-sex, and identifies and presents as a woman – is never left out of this. Her place among the rest of the women is never even up for debate, is never questioned. Of course she’s one of them. She’s a vital and valued member of the sisterhood. Which is something that would make me happy no matter when this book was coming out, but it feels particularly important – and powerful – right at this moment, when so much transphobia is running rampant in the USA and UK.
But the last third or quarter of the book ruined the entire trilogy for me.
Read the rest at Every Book a Doorway!
adventurous
dark
mysterious
reflective
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
A lovely ending to the trilogy that wraps up plotlines and drops some serious Truths.
adventurous
challenging
dark
mysterious
reflective
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
The conclusion of this intricate trilogy has all the elements I loved from books one and two: political intrigue, plotting and scheming, and a hugely diverse set of characters.
The poetess Ummuhan returns, though in a smaller role, while Dead Man and Gage are doing their best to stave off threats. The two rajnis, Sayeh and Mrithuri, work hard to deal with the outcomes of war and stabilize the Lotus Kingdom. And there's an ancient dragon who's got tons of knowledge, ability and charm who joins in to help everyone.
The pacing continues to be slow, which is fine, as it matches books one and two. And the things I liked in the previous books really come to the fore during all the action: all the fantastic women, whether poetess, rajni, bookworm, or dragon, dealing with problem after problem, decisively. The dragon Kyrlmyrandal, and the rajnis Mrithuri and Sayeh were standouts for me.
Then, at the three quarter mark, I kept wondering, did I just leave book three and enter something else? Because where did the Beast come from? I don't understand how its reveal was credibly set up, so I stayed confused as this new, terrifically bad threat was dealt with, before we returned to the story I expected, of Mrithuri and Sayeh continuing to figure out how to run the new empire.
The first three quarters of the story was a solid 4 stars, while the last quarter dropped precipitously for me to at best a 2-star rating. Because I really enjoyed the series till that weird plot twist, I'm going to give this book 3 stars for its final rating.
Thank you to Netgalley and to Macmillan-Tor/Forge Books for this ARC in exchange for my review.
The poetess Ummuhan returns, though in a smaller role, while Dead Man and Gage are doing their best to stave off threats. The two rajnis, Sayeh and Mrithuri, work hard to deal with the outcomes of war and stabilize the Lotus Kingdom. And there's an ancient dragon who's got tons of knowledge, ability and charm who joins in to help everyone.
The pacing continues to be slow, which is fine, as it matches books one and two. And the things I liked in the previous books really come to the fore during all the action: all the fantastic women, whether poetess, rajni, bookworm, or dragon, dealing with problem after problem, decisively. The dragon Kyrlmyrandal, and the rajnis Mrithuri and Sayeh were standouts for me.
Then, at the three quarter mark, I kept wondering, did I just leave book three and enter something else? Because where did the Beast come from? I don't understand how its reveal was credibly set up, so I stayed confused as this new, terrifically bad threat was dealt with, before we returned to the story I expected, of Mrithuri and Sayeh continuing to figure out how to run the new empire.
The first three quarters of the story was a solid 4 stars, while the last quarter dropped precipitously for me to at best a 2-star rating. Because I really enjoyed the series till that weird plot twist, I'm going to give this book 3 stars for its final rating.
Thank you to Netgalley and to Macmillan-Tor/Forge Books for this ARC in exchange for my review.
Satisfying wrap up, where loose ends are tied, and explanations are given. There's a lot going on, character and backstory-wise, so some of the explanation is a bit rushed, but still excellent.
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
This book both tied up a lot of loose ends from the previous book while also adding a surprising amount of new things into the mix (sometimes to it's detriment imo). It was definitely more interesting than red-stained wings. While I thought it was a fine book I feel like I would have adored the series in high school. As I always snatched up books with trans characters I have no idea how I passed by this series with so many trans* characters.
*1-3 characters depending on how you count
*1-3 characters depending on how you count